This invention relates generally to tape dispensing apparatus and, more particularly, to improved apparatus for dispensing mesh drywall tape.
Drywall installation is very labor intensive. In fact, more than half the cost of installing drywall is borne by labor. One of the most labor-intensive steps in drywall installation is the patching of the seams separating adjacent drywall panels. This process normally involves applying a layer of tape over the seams and then sealing the tape with a suitable drywall compound. The application of the tape over the seams proves especially difficult because the seams can prove challenging to reach, and workers find it difficult to cut the tape to desired lengths. Although various devices have been constructed to enhance the ease and efficiency of applying tape to the seams separating adjacent drywall panels, they are difficult to construct and workers find them messy, difficult to clean and cumbersome. These and other disadvantages with known devices therefore necessitate certain new and useful improvements.
Further, most of the drywall tape dispensing devices presently on the market are extremely large and cumbersome, which also makes them expensive and generally only procurable by large contractors and the like. These large devices require an operator to use both hands in the operation and are invariably difficult to use in tight places and near corners and the like (e.g. at the juncture of the wall and the floor or ceiling. Also, at the present time mesh tape is being used in more places because of its additional strength and adherence. However, mesh tape is more difficult to work with for the same reasons that make it more desirable to use.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide improved apparatus for dispensing and applying tape to drywall and, more particularly, improved apparatus and methods for dispensing and applying mesh tape to drywall
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus for dispensing drywall tape that is handheld and easy to use.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus for dispensing drywall tape that is compact and can be used in tight areas.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus for dispensing mesh tape for drywall applications.
It is yet still another provision of the present invention to substantially reduce the equipment investment normally associated with patching the seams separating adjacent drywall panels.
The above problems and others are at least partially solved and the above purposes and others are realized in new and improved apparatus for dispensing and applying drywall tape to a surface including a chassis with a handle constructed for one-hand operation, a tape roll receiving reel carried by the chassis for rotation, a tape guide roller mounted within the chassis for receiving tape from the reel and guiding the tape to an outlet from the chassis, a tape applying pressure roller mounted adjacent a front end of the chassis for receiving the tape from the outlet and pressing the tape against a surface to be taped, a tape cutter mounted within the chassis and movable between a stored and a tape cutting position, and a corner roller with an angled surface pivotally mounted on the chassis for movement between a stored position adjacent the chassis and a tape engaging position situated outwardly from the pressure roller so as to receive the tape from the pressure roller.
The new and improved apparatus for dispensing and applying drywall tape is further constructed so that the handle and the tape roll receiving reel are mounted on opposite sides of the chassis and adjacent a rear end with the pressure roller mounted adjacent the front end. The apparatus is generally bounded by a first plane tangent to the pressure roller and to a tape roll on the tape roll receiving reel and a second plane tangent to the pressure roller and the handle with the first and second planes forming an angle of less than ninety degrees, whereby the improved apparatus is compact and can be used in tight areas.
In a preferred embodiment the apparatus includes a tape cutter with a serrated knife edge that is mounted so as to be directed away from the pressure roller and at an acute angle to the tape extending from the tape guide roller to the pressure roller. The acute angle applies tension to the tape already applied to the surface so that the tape is severed cleanly and no wrinkles, etc. develop. In addition to the serrated knife edge cutting mesh tape accurately and cleanly, it is movable into a stored position in which the knife edge is protected to prevent contact with hands and other foreign objects.